Upon Her Throne
by Sombereyes
Summary: The HiME's guiding star was not something that could be so easily destroyed. The dark queen has risen to sit atop her throne of fire, however, the chance at a new world has been lost forever. Locked within a purgatory unlike any other, the HiME must make one last desperate attempt at finding freedom from their curse. The rules have changed, and so has the game.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This idea has been loosely in the works for a few weeks now, and it's still sort of in its infancy. However, I promised my friend Beth that I would upload the first two chapters today. It's her anniversary with her partner today, and they've been going strong for 10 years…in this day and age, that's simply amazing to have a love so unwavering and strong. I wish them both a very happy anniversary, and many wonderful years to come.

**Side warning: **This is going to be a Mai/Natsuki fan fiction in later chapters. If that kind of thing grinds your gears, I would advise that you save yourself the torture and simply avoid this fiction outright. Shizuru will have a yuri paring as well, but it will **_not_** be with Natsuki.

Summary: The HiME's guiding star was not something that could be so easily destroyed. The dark queen has risen to sit atop her throne of fire, however, the chance at a new world has been lost forever. Locked within a purgatory unlike any other, the HiME must make one last desperate attempt at finding freedom from their curse. The rules have changed, and so has the game.

I do not own Mai HiME.

All of that being said, I hope you enjoy this take on Dark Queen Mai, as I've never written a completely Mai centric fan fiction before, this outta be fun.

**Chapter 1: A Preface**

History foretells of grim truths. It gifts dark realities that are little more than murmurs of the deepest hell. It is a chain that binds tightly, warning those who read the insipid scrawling's to heed their future, knowing it will be bleak. There are those who are captured by the vice-like grip of repetition, and, in spite of their greatest efforts to rebel, it cannot be stopped.

Freedom is only a fairytale for those born under the blood red star. That is an unconditional, unquestionable, and for most an unfathomable truth.

From the start they are doomed to battle. Fated to love, and to lose. Marked by this curse that transcends time itself, they've no choice but to face the worst pains of all, their souls locked within a prison of purgatory upon their birth. They are lambs made to be taken to slaughter. Although they sing beautifully in agony, their tears are often not enough to free them.

This is a fact that cannot be disputed by the gods, nor the whims of the fated princesses who fight so hard, simply to attain nothing.

In a proper fight, known as the carnival, one woman is chosen to be victorious after she overcomes the trials of defeating the others. To such a woman go the spoils of a hard won war. That woman ascends the throne, and becomes a dark queen to her people. Together, she and the obsidian lord travel to a new world, in which they rule over time and space until kingdom come.

This queen will give rise to more HiME, and so, the cycle continues…through many worlds, and ages, it is a never-ending cycle of war, death, and rebirth.

However, some believe there is salvation, and they reach desperately to attain it as a team, standing as a united front. That too, is merely a story murmured by time. It is a fairytale, nothing more. It may seem comforting, and little children may take solace by the purity of the deceit, however defying the star is simply impossible.

Still, occasionally some of these girls aren't afraid to fight. Sometimes, these girls take a stand angst the fate that is dealt to them. However, what they do not know, is that their distant dreams are indeed only children's stories murmured by firelight. No matter how they fight, or what they think they've destroyed, eventually, the queen wakes up from her slumber. Eventually, their dream ends.

Then, she is exposed to the indisputable fact, and realizes she failed. Such is the fate of the chosen few, scorned woman who inevitably go against the star and its demands. That outcome is a pity, truly...because truth be told, it is a dreadfully willful thing. That insidious HiME star.

This is the story of one such group of twelve, and their most important people. It is one that I've unfortunately witnessed before.

Tangled in the web that they've made for themselves, they face down their true nature. That is the only true way to escape the power of HiME star. The world, as they knew it is gone, it won't ever come back. Still, to even defy the laws takes immeasurable courage, and fate has gifted them a second chance.

Sealed on the dark side of the moon, it is time these maidens flee from their cage and find a new world, in which to call their own...

...it is a fate I dream of too...if only I could be so strong.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: well, now we can get into the meat of the story….here's the first full length chapter.

**Chapter 2**

_"__A duality, such as the past and forthcoming future, are little more than pompous renderings of a moment in time. Two paths, one distinctive answer. One path laced with hope, the other drenched in sorrow. It mattered not where a person steps. Oh, not at all, because in the end, the mere assumption that fate could indeed be changed is redundant at best…completely asinine at worst. Isn't that just delightful?"_

It was a laugh filled with spite that haunted her. That self-indulgent, and often entirely twisted view of the world that tormented her. A web so tangled, it was worse than a widow's deadly coil that trapped her. This was a voice she'd heard before, calling her, bespeaking horrible things that would leave only the vilest of people on the planet wanting more…and yet, there was a strange kindness as well.

…gentleness in that distant, unknown voice, who so sought her…  
…who prodder her, as one might while trying to stoke dying flames…  
…and who remained unreachable, unattainable, and entirely unbelievable…  
…that distant voice, who was fierce as the hells, and as impossibly frozen as such a place…

_"__Fire princess, hear my call." _That selfsame enchantress said in the distance of a dark emptiness. It spanned all around. _"Allow my words to reach you, to guide you, and to show you the way. You will not regret it, I assure you."_

The woman who heard the voice looked around, but found nothing. The area was as black at pitch around her, and her vision was hindered by the absence of light. "What way?" She asked, trying to see through the thick nothingness. "Where are you?" It was stifling, a thick madness dipping into her gut every time she took a breath. The air was like molasses. "It isn't like I can actually see anything." She added, not that she felt it would help her case.

_ "__Heed my warnings, girl. Do that much. Understand the wisdom that is not yet at your fingertips. Reach for it, and grasp hold." _The voice was clearly an advocate from the devil himself…or a she-devil hell bent on making havoc. _"Do not fail."_ It spat curtly, as if the order was a command of nature itself. It was this duality that frightened the girl who heard the creature talk._ "Follow thy own spirit beyond the fog of doubt. Journey into the precipice of eternal emotion. Defy that which binds you, and see purely truth." _The voice said without missing a beat. _"Only then will you understand."_

"I…don't understand I don't think I can, or, even if I will." Mai called out. "That's the problem."

_"__Find the light, HiME." _The voice told her. "_You are bearer of the fire dragon, Kagutsuchi. You are the princess who shall be named the queen of the obsidian throne. You fought to earn it. You are precisely where you need to be, fear not."_

"No, you're wrong." Mai murmured in disbelief. "We won…"

_"__Such a trite belief, if I do say so myself."_ The voice laughed.

She couldn't believe otherwise, she wouldn't let herself fall into the pit of such doubt. "We won against the obsidian lord, and things went back to normal. Everything's okay now." She bit the inside of her lip, believing this had to be a horrible dream, but she tasted blood.

_"__Maybe…"_ The voice said cunningly, as if she didn't particularly care about the redhead in her clutches. _"Maybe, everything is as you say it is. I wouldn't be bothered. Even if I were to be, it changes nothing." _The creature that blended in so perfect in the darkness merely laughed.

"I have hopes and dreams for the future." Mai said, her hands curling into fists. "I can almost sense that this isn't the place I belong." If biting into her cheeks didn't work, maybe digging into her palms would. "I can tell that I'm someplace I shouldn't be."

_"__There is no victory where fate demands the flow of time."_ The female apparition concluded after a moment, as if it had considered Mai's words._ "It was fruitless, mind you, to assume that you would find solace by destroying the guiding star of your power."_

"But we did beat it." Mai shot back, but to whom, she had no idea. The voice, one shrouded in darkness, was undefinable, and yet, seemed to be kindred spirit somehow. So close, and yet, so very far away. "I know that we overcame the fight…that everyone came back. I remember it clearly."

_"__If only such an auspicious joy was the fate of the HiME."_ The voice chuckled softly, a gentle admonishment slipping from its lips. _"Open your eyes, and see the world that is before you…take a look at your kingdom, and your domain. With this such gift, scornful though it is, you are indeed a queen."_

"No…I'm not..." Mai said, but now, she started to doubt herself. "I'll never be anything of the sort."

_"__Dear girl, if it was so easy to avoid such a fate, isn't it also presumable that others have shared your plight? That others have dreamed and desired the same?" _The sultry voice chuckled, clearly like that of a woman. _"Others have forged this path before, there is no escape."_

"But, that can't be right." Mai protested, as if fighting with the disembodied voice in the absolute darkness would change anything. "Mikoto has the stiches on her side to prove it, and Takumi went to get his operation, so I know everything's okay…it's got to be." She shot back, as if arguing would prove that this was a dream. A hallucination from some spoiled food, and nothing more.

_"__If only it were so simple to achieve such happiness." _The voice said softly, as if admonishing a mere child. _"Let's play pretend. Let's say, your delusional beliefs actually happened. Let's say that truly is the matter at hand."_

"It isn't a game." Mai said defiantly. "I know it's the truth!"

_ "__If it were true, wouldn't you believe that we of the past have also thought to destroy the star?"_ The voice asked without a hint of venom._ "Don't you believe that the plight of the battle princesses would be over and done with, if that were indeed the case?" _In fact, the voice seemed almost sad. _"It is merely a ruse, girl. Little more, little less…tell me, girl, what is your name?"_

"…Mai." The carrot top said quietly. "That's my name, Mai Tokiha." Her words were murmured, nearly drowned by echoes she could hear in a faraway place. "I was born on July twenty-second. I have a little brother named Takumi, and I go to Fuka Academy." She had to believe those things. She couldn't throw it away. "I have best friends there, like Mikoto, Natsuki, Chie, and Aoi…Nao too. That's how it is. It must be true."

_"__Open your eyes, Mai…"_ The voice said, drenched in a strange sort of disgusted pity. _"Then, you will see."_

…

She awoke with a jolt, a near silent scream tearing through her as her muscles constricted painfully. A cold sweat and a dry mouth made her gulp at the tea she had next to the bed. She was so very tired, but restfulness wouldn't come. Not after visions such as that.

It was a dream she'd had many times before, and as she woke up for not the first time since the horrific battle of the HiME, she stood from her place and gazed out of the large picture window. Ashes as far as the eye could see colored the world in an ugly obsidian. The sky was muddied by dark clouds, and no light seemed to shine. The sun was glowing an angry, bloodied red, and it was such a color that her senses had been filled with moments ago.

Black ashes, staining red blood, with no one in sight.

It seemed as if time had stopped, because though she had looked for quite some time, she found no people in this place…no redemption in the hollowed out shell of a place she used to call home. Her dorm was all but empty, and the people that she once thought of as class mates where nowhere to be discovered. The church sat in shambles, and the classrooms collected dust.

How long had she been like this, waiting for someone to come find her and wake her up from this hell?

She hadn't the slightest clue, but she couldn't leave either. Reito needed her, and without thinking beyond that, she forced herself to carry on with her day. The sordid routine was the only thing left for her anymore, and even it didn't quell the deepest desires in her heart. If only her friends were around, if only she could call back the dead, she wouldn't be so lonely anymore.

Maybe, just maybe, if the dead called to her, she could join them.

As sick and twisted as it made her feel, it was the only thing she could cling onto. The halls protected remnants of those that once lived among these walls. It was almost as if their ghosts echoed in the otherwise stagnant and putrid air. A stray spelling test here, a love note scrawled haphazardly there, everywhere she looked there was something to remind her. She could not avoid it, the evidence was much too difficult to disprove.

This had once been her world, her school, her happiness, and her life.

Even in her own bedroom, Mikoto's belongings were exactly as she left them. Mai hadn't found the strength to move anything. As dust covered as the books seemed to be, as dry as a bone her toothbrush was, and as crumpled as her clothes were, Mai couldn't find the strength in herself to box together the broken pieces. It was as if she would wrong Mikoto somehow to even do that much.

There was one room in the girls' dorm that had been vacant, and Mai came to a stop as she neared the door, knocking once on it, and entering the threshold. There, the sight that graced her was the same one she found every day. She wondered when she might see a different one, but feared that all the same. "Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked weakly, unable to even muster a hint of joy.

Like every day, the man smiled. He was sickly and pale, his lips thinning into a thin line as he looked up from his reading. "As well as every day." He said, trying to offer her some measure of comfort, but even that merely skittered across his face in an eerie way. "You haven't found anything, have you?"

"No." Mai said quietly. "I haven't." She came to sit at his side on the bed, and proceeded to undo the buttons of his shirt. She needed to change the bandages across his torso. They continued to weep blood every day from Mikoto's old sword. It was unfortunately another reminder of how alone they were now. "We're running out of time. Most of the food has gone bad, and we're almost out of medical supplies."

Reito chose not to say anything to that, and instead, he swallowed down his words with a drink of gritty water from his glass. It had sat by him over night, and it began to taste just like the bitter air around them. "What happened to us, Mai? Why are we trapped like this?"

"I don't know." The dark queen murmured, void of any true emotion. "It shouldn't be this way."

"It is." Reito said simply, even his fingers had turned bony and drained of vigor. "It shouldn't be, but, it is." He had come to that conclusion. The reasons why eluded him, but, he was willing to take note of the horrific truth. He endeavored to figure out what went so terribly wrong. He had to ponder it, he needed to figure it out, and there was simply no other way. "What do you recall from the final battle?" He asked, knowing it was a tired old question.

"I don't." Mai answered all too quickly. "That's the problem." She rid him of his bandages, and redressed his wounds, her fingers idling over the markings that would forever bleed. "I remember winning. I remember something else...something other than this." She shook her head, it hurt, pounding like a jackhammer. "Normalcy, and…I-I think maybe it was too good to be true."

"It was a dream." Reito said then as he nodded. He felt the same,that his memories were perfect, and had to be a fabrication. "A dream, Mai. This is our reality, I can feel that." He offered an angry grin. "You are my queen, the person who will stand by my side as we build this world anew."

Mai just smiled at his cruelty, his willingness to overlook the truth astounded her. "I won't be your queen." She told him pointedly. "What do we have to rule over? We're not gods, we can't just make a new world. We never could. It was impossible from the start." She went to the kitchenette to get some food, but only can goods were left. "We have nothing, you fool."

"We can make something." He said, though even he knew how slim a chance that was. He clutched at his shirt, feeling the angry pulse of his desire flow through him. "We can build this world into our image yet, you'll see Mai. You'll see what my power can do, what our joined strength can accomplish. I'm sure you'll see reason in it!"

"Only an idiot would think like that in your state." She opened up the can of tomato soup, warmed it with fire from her palms, and plunked a spoon into it. Handing him the meager sustenance. "You're on a sickbed for god's sake." She scolded him, a distant prayer from long ago lingering in her eyes. "Don't you understand? There is nothing left. Nothing!" Mai barked, her violet eyes glimmering in her anger. "In spite of what you may think, we are powerless. The ties that bind us, the things that made us happy are gone."

"How can you possibly know that?" The man said with a shake of his head. He was weak, he was ill, but he refused to be thought of as daft by anyone, especially the woman he intended to marry. He was sure that if she would at least give him the courtesy of seeing things his way, he could prove that to her. Instead if charming her into an agreement, he accused her. "Don't tell me, it was that friend of yours…the one who has no name."

"The voices say so themselves." Mai said, not giving him the luxury of an argument. "They're omnipotent to some degree, and we speak in the depth of my sleep."

A loud screech cut through the air just as Reito was about to retort. Kagutsuchi was calling, and as he landed deftly onto the ground, his large head struggled to get through the window. Inside of his gaping mouth and dagger-like teeth, he held a bottle on his tongue. He waited expectantly for his master to take it from him. Mai welcomed him and rubbed his snout, giving the gigantic beast one of her true, pleased smiles before it fell into sadness.

"Couldn't find anyone, could you boy?" She asked, knowing that to be true. He chirped sadly, once the bottle was removed the dragon turned into his glowing spirit form. He seemed to favor the smaller, silvery spirit body. Mai knew it was because he could fit inside of the dorm room that way. Mai closed the window after the dragon entered and turned to Reito. "This is why I think the voices are right…there's nothing out there, no one."

"Did it ever occur to you than if anyone ever really looked at him, they'd run fleeing for the hills?" Reito asked pointedly, finished with his soup. He set the can down on the night stand, and the fire phoenix nudged table in reply.

"You're hungry." Mai said, patting the side of the creature's face. "Go back to your world and eat, I'll summon you later, I promise." When he chirped again, almost sad to leave, Mai shook her head. "Go…I'll be fine here."

Shooed away as if it were an innocent creature, unlike the rabid beast that it truly was, he tried to cuddle up to his master. Mai would have none of it, and sent him on his way. Truth be told, she loved the mythical creature with all of her heart, as he was often her only solace anymore. He belonged in a much different, spiritual world, but often lingered at her side. However, even as she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he worried, the fire beast was the one bright companion, in a sea of loneliness.

…

Every time she dreamed, it was the same pattern, the same routine on repeat…an endlessly maddening cycle of torture and lectures from that disembodied voice. It seemed to have nothing better to do, no better existence, than within the depths of a person's sleep.

_"__I know you do not understand. The parable is tantamount to forsaken scripture."_ The voice laughed after Mai had exhaustedly fallen asleep early in the evening. As always, the voice, the demonic spirit of something…or someone, saw fit to tease her. _"No mere human, battle princess or not, would ever be able to understand the complexities of their nature. Not a woman like you, who would be the owner of that fire monster."_

"He's not a monster." Mai said indignantly. "I want to go home." Inwardly she was crying out for what she remembered, and what she thought she knew. The things that had once warmed her heart, and offered joy and comfort. "I know home is someplace…and this isn't it. It wasn't just a lie…it wasn't fake…and it wasn't a dream."

_Well, isn't that interesting…such blind faith, even now. That is such a boring way to go about one's life."_ The unseen female chuckled. _"Alright, Mai, I'll level with you. There is, indeed, a way out of this mess you're in. However, you won't find it through conventional means."_

"So, then how would I find it?" Mai asked, her fingers pushing through the thick emptiness as she tried to blindly walk in the direction she faced. She had no idea where she was, or where she was going.

_"__Find yourself." _The voice quipped, not seeming to mind.

"I know who I am." The carrot top said. "It's everything else I'm unsure about."

_"__Pathetic creatures, humans. They believe they understand so much, it's a pity they have no idea. They don't even have an inkling of the truth." _A loud click sent a wave of unbearable sound crashing around Mai, and then, the darkness dissipated to a clear, bright world. A world Mai remembered, and, perched in a tree branch was the person she'd been hearing.

A black endless void, in the shape of herself, sat comfortably as if all was right with the world.

_"__Well, now do you understand?"_ The voice asked. _"I am you, and you are me, we are one in the same."_ Saying it was easy, getting Mai to believe it was another story. _"I am the shadow of your soul. All of the things you hate, everything you despise, everything you fear…it finds a place of rest within me."_ She hopped down from her place, their heights were exactly the same. _"This is the dream you thought was real…but, it is merely a fantasy."_

…

It was just another bad dream...

She promised to look out for him…swore to her mother that she would take care of her little brother. That wasn't a lie within the pit of her heart. It was an honest vow, made to a woman lying on her deathbed. A shared confidence between mother and daughter. It was everything growing up, her entire life became devoted to that one important thing. Takumi was the only reason not to mourn, she never had the time. She had to take care of him.

He was little, confused, and afraid.

Their father worked endlessly to give them some sort of future, because in the eyes if the tormented and distant man, that was the only thing he could do. He couldn't take the pain away, and his soul was too weak to offer any sort of replacement. He would not seek love again. All he could do was work, get money to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and pay off the lingering debt caused by medical bills. He thought that he could do at least that much for them, he wouldn't have failed his children entirely as a father.

Even so, Mai was perceptive as a child. Her violet eyes saw the impossibility. She could see his long hours taking their toll, his hopelessness as he struggled to maintain a house, a small boy, and a full time job. His inability to mourn, or even take time for himself…sometimes, she had wondered if he could even stand a few hours with nothing to do, or to worry about. Occasionally, it crossed her mind that her father wouldn't be able to get by like that…that if their lives continued down that road, he could die too.

Regardless of her age, in spite of the fact that she was still so young herself, she refused to think of that possibility.

Takumi was on her shoulders, she had promised her mother that. So, instead of just babysitting him, dressing him, and bathing him, she took to other responsibilities too. She was on a stool scrambling eggs and tossing hash browns before she knew it. She was doing the laundry, and helping Takumi every night with his homework, even whilst doing her own. Somehow, without really thinking about it, she had become the mother that was lost to him when he was far too young.

It was those memories, distant and cherished though they were, that reminded her that she was real…her past was real…and, this world was part of that reality. She was sure it wasn't a dream…but, rather something else. Something different and more tangible.

"So, what do you think?" She asked her companion who floated beside her bed every night. The dragon that was both as gentle as a soft breeze, and as dangerous as an inferno. "Do you remember everyone too?"

The dragon cocked its head to the side, making a soft but contented clicking sound. It blinked a few times before deciding to hover over a stray sock of Mikoto's. He seemed almost sad as he nudged it and chirped again.

"Kagutsuchi, I…I'm okay, I think." Mai said quietly. "Because, I know that they were real…that they were my friends and family." She sighed away a great deal of pain. "You don't have to stay. Maybe, if you left, this place would finally end. Maybe it would go away."

The gentle beast shook its head. Though he could not speak, his large soft eyes told her everything. Even if he left, it wouldn't provide the answer she was really looking for.

"I know." Mai said weakly. "I know that it doesn't change anything." She rubbed her eyes, unwilling to let sadness enter them. "But, I just…" Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, she huffed out a heated breath, angry, confused, and tired. "I don't understand the point. Why make a world when there's no one you love in it?"

The dragon spirit seemed equally confused as he gazed out to the slowly rising red sun, another chirp coming from him as if to question that very fact.

"I just don't think that's the reason, Kagutsuchi." Mai told him, though, she wasn't entirely sure. "That can't be why the HiME exist. If it's been going on for as lost as history says, then why are you still fighting? I know I wasn't the first one you chose…so why are you still here?" She shook her head. "There's something we completely missed, something I think we should have seen."

The dragon was uneasy, but he didn't make any other noise as he curled up at the foot of Mai's bed. His eyes closed innocently enough, and he rested there unmoving. Mai wasn't sure if he actually needed sleep, or, if he just took to doing that out of habit, but either way, she moved a pillow to his end of the bed and rested beside him.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Another installment on this baby…there's a few original characters mixed into the fray starting here, but I've hoped to keep them balanced as much as I can.

**Chapter 3**

At first, Mai shunned the voice that called to her. She ran away from the dark shadows that teased her relentlessly in her sleep. It felt as if it was the best thing to do, or rather, the only thing that could be done.

Slowly however, upon the perfectly cut green grass and endless blue sky, Mai found herself at peace. It was an uneasy fabrication, she knew that. It was too perfect, too reminiscent of her desired past. Remnants of the days spent at the academy, memoires that were distant or long gone. Without the sight of her beloved friends and family, Mai had to admit, there was nothing here to indicate why she should be so comforted.

It was little more than a fake spot that she wished really existed.

Even if she knew that, she spent more and more time in that warm place, thankful that life wouldn't torment her. The sights, sounds, and smells couldn't trap her emotions so easily in a vice-like despair, because here she found solace. Even so, the shadow was not a kind being to be loved. No, far from it. She was a deranged embodiment of a pained soul, and she tore at Mai easily, plucking at her already fragile defenses.

At first, Mai thought there was nothing to be gained from this apparition besides continual torture. Soon however, she found herself stunned when that became untrue. One strange dream was all it took before the tables turned, and a tiny ray of light was something Mai felt deep within the pit of her soul. It glimmered within the dark shadow, in spite of the darkness.

_"__You are pitiful."_ The voice sneered, harassing Mai as always. Strangely, it wasn't as bad as before. There was a shared bond between them. An odd, yet interesting interplay of friendship, rivalry, and hatred. _"Luckily for you, I like pitiful creatures. They're so easy to spit on, just like a pest...That's what you are Mai." _The sinister voice cackled. _"An ill begotten pest."_

"Say what you want." Mai said sitting under the tree, in her world full of color. She knew the space around her were her own creation, so vibrant and soothing, they could only be parts of her distant memory. "I get it, I can't go back home…not to what I think home is, anyway." She looked up into the tree branches. The void that was in the shape of her body was indescribably beautiful in her own way. "You know what's funny? I can't put faces to names anymore. I can remember the names of my friends, what we tried so hard to do…but, I'm starting to forget what they even look like, or even how they sound."

_"__Become the queen you need to be, and you won't have that problem."_ The shadow said with a shrug. _"You're just a failure, all of you were never meant to win against fate. You were all doomed from the start." _She might have seemed aloof or uncaring, but Mai could always detect pain behind the harsh words. The horrific damnation promised by this shadow of a woman…of herself, was merely all the dark being could do anymore. _"The world can be under your control now, you can make it into what you want it to be. Isn't that a good thing? Isn't that the kind of power you've wanted?"_

"No…it's not." Mai told her, her eyes trailing down to the grass. She plucked a few bits of it in thought. "It's more like, that's the one thing I was afraid of the most." She chewed on her lower lip, remembering the dream she had while in the chapel. It came flooding back to her so easily. "I can't describe it well, but, I think I had an hallucination once. It changed my image of what I thought life would be forever." She laughed sadly, wondering where that dream was now. "I knew, even then, it wasn't real."

_"__Reality is such a cowardly word."_ The shadow told her, unmoved by Mai's distant gaze. _"So what was your dream about, it had to be something important, right?"_

"I wanted everything to work out…somehow." Mai pushed away the turning her gut. "I wanted my mom to be alive, watching me grow up. I wanted everyone to be healthy….and Tate and Shiho to be siblings for real. I wanted Mikoto to be my little sister. Natsuki wouldn't be such a grouch all the time, she wouldn't need revenge at all…I guess, I'd have my own little utopia, if I had my way about it."

_"__That's the thing I like about you, you're such a bitch." _ The shadow laughed. _"Just because you'd make a perfect world for you, doesn't mean everyone else would be happy. Even if they look that way in your mind, reality would screw them over…and like it or not, that kind of half-heartedness is what got mortal women into this mess."_

"Well, that's why it's only a dream." Mai shot back at her. "I know it can't be real…because if it was, it would be too fake." Even so, it was at one point a desperate wish in her heart. She fell back into the grass, her hand reaching up, as if to caress the blue sky above her. "Like…this place…this beautiful setting I come to whenever I fall asleep."

_"__It's not real."_ There was just a pang of sadness, hardly there at all. _"But, it could be…"_

"No, it can't." Mai told her. "I know that's a lie."

_"__You're foolish, and you understand nothing."_ The shadow hissed. _"You're the queen, take all that is offered to you, and reap the rewards while you still can."_ The shadow crossed her arms, a cold and seething anger flowing through her. _"You're the one who provoked this, you fought against fate, cast into the very hell you assume you reside in."_ Her laugh was bitter. _"You have to find this place…this perfect place…you have to reach for it. However, you're so weak, I doubt that you can."_

"Tell me what I have to do, and I'd do it." Mai told her without missing a beat. "I wouldn't hesitate."

_"__You say that, but, you know nothing."_ The cackling softened into a murmured confession drenched in total and complete ichor, seeping from the bowel of hell itself. _"Raising a single human from the dead, let alone twelve HiME? Well, that's hefty price, my dear."_ Still, the shadow seemed amused, and began to pace back and forth. _"If you believe you can live up to the challenge, more power to you."_

Mai could tell, there was doubt in her abilities. "You don't think I can, but, how would I know if you won't tell me?"

_"__You want to know?"_ It was almost as if the shadow was grinning through her words. _"Seek out a former HiME, a former queen, and you'll understand."_ The shadow thought for a moment, and snapped her fingers, though no sound came of it. _"Lind…the snake maiden as we called her, was a former bearer of Kiyohime. She is who best to speak with, if you indeed wish to understand your nature as a queen. Although, I would take heed, she's not exactly kind."_

"Well, neither are you." Mai said, dusting herself off. "Where do I find her?"

_"__The resting place of all HiME, if you call to her, she will come."_ The shadow said, a warning in her tone dampened her lance-like barbs, spoken in trues regret. _"Although, I have no idea if you have what it takes. The requirements, as you'll soon find out, are indeed dire. You'll have to make some…choices." _

"Strangely enough, I'm okay with that." Mai said with an unsure laugh. "After all of this, what could be so bad?"

At that, the shadow seemed to delight. _"Hmm, what indeed?"_

…

It was the first time she'd woken up without a terrified scream ripping through her entire body.

Mai woke up oddly at peace with herself, and, slightly worried. She felt the anxiety in her heart, pounding away like a battered drum. One look outside told her it was still night time, but she knew now was the time to slink away and find this woman. The name sounded strange to her, but she thought little of that. It wasn't her place to question it, and so, she merely didn't.

It wasn't right to think poorly of the departed, but Mai felt no shame in casting judgment on a queen of the past. Anyone who could possibly desire to be a queen of the HiME, had to be a sick person. She was sure of that now. As unwaveringly positive about that as she was, as much as she'd seen and felt, she refused to think otherwise. Mai didn't want to be queen, but maybe, grim truth would tell her that she would have to be.

The thought of rising to the occasion made her ill, and she swallowed down a lump in her throat as she continued to the ruins deep underground. There would be answers there, she prayed for good news.

When she arrived, she was shocked to find that the twelve pillars that signified a HiME's power glowed with a soft, gentle light. Each one a monument in their vibrant colors, a rainbow of hued beauty. Stepping past them, she found a set of stairs she had never seen before, and traveled down the twisted pathway. What she found was nothing like she assumed she'd find. The walls were etched in names that glowed a color exactly to match to each of the pillars. She followed the glowing walls, finding it a shock that the names of her friends, and former HiME now marked the rocks. Her fingers traced over Natsuki's name, as it was the first she'd come to that she recognized.

It was almost as if she could hear Natsuki's voice again, see her….and feel her nearby. The feeling encompassed her. With a heavy heart that wept, she removed her fingers from the wall. It wasn't long before she noticed that each name she knew of, each one she had a connection with, resonated within her. She wasn't sure what to think of that, but, as she kept searching, she finally found Shizuru's name.

And, testing her theory again, she closed her eyes, feeling Shizuru in the very air around her…and, just like with Natsuki, when Mai removed her hand from the wall, the connection was lost again. Believing she was in the right general area, she let her eyes scan the names, following each intricate pattern etched into the stone by magic alone.

"Lind…" Mai read the name softly aloud. "This is it." She said, as her fingertips ran over the markings. "I wonder if you can hear me." She waited, but no response came. "I wonder if you are all watching over me…all of these names, all of these people." She swallowed hard. "Some of them are the best friends I've ever had." There was no response, even the air was unnaturally still. No moisture dripped from the ceiling either. This place was pristinely perfect, lacking even dust. "I wonder what some of you would say, if you saw me now."

Nothing came of her words, no indication that someone might be there, lingering. She kept her eyes closed, and tried to feel for a connection, finding none. It was a fruitless endeavor, one that made her blood run cold as she cursed bitterly under her breath. She sunk to the ground, tired and alone. Thirsty, but with no water nearby. Hungry, but no decent food to eat.

Kagutsuchi had followed her, floating nearest a wall with another long list of names. He peered at it, chirping with sad little clicking sounds. He looked to Mai, half expecting, half hoping that she might understand him. When she didn't move, he grew sad, crawling on all fours to his master's side. He was glowing perfectly in the otherwise dim room, his power soft and warm. He nudge Mai electing a sigh as a response, and then, he growled at the wall she faced…hoping his aggression would provoke the souls within.

"Down boy." A soft voice said, as her spirit stepped through the dark shiny rock that glistened with the tears of the maidens. In admonishment she gave the dragon a displeased glair that softened as soon as his saddened eyes caught hers. At his hopeful glance, she became almost gentle. "You know they can't hear you, Kagutsuchi." She looked to the carrot top who eyed her suspiciously, but had yet to speak. "Only Kiyohime can call upon those souls."

"Who…are you?" Mai asked, though, judging by the dragon's reaction, she was a friendly face, not a foe. A slim girl that Kagutsuchi all but tackled as his excitement got the better of him.

"I am Tatsu, one of Kagutsuchi's many owners…and also, a battle princesses." She bowed deeply, garbed as that of a priestess. When the dragon did nothing but nudge at her expectantly, she sighed at him. "Did you miss me that much?" She asked as just like an overgrown hatchling, he nuzzled her with his nose, making a near squealing noise in absolute glee. "Settle down now." She told him, and instantly. He obeyed, but refused to leave her side as he gently nibbled at the corner of the haori she donned. It was without a doubt a childlike action Mai would expect from a small boy, grasping onto his mother's clothes.

He chirped in reply, looking at the first master that he'd ever had, and then gazing to Mai, as if that answered all of the carrot top's questions.

"You and your predecessors have taken good care of him." Tatsu murmured, more to herself than to Mai as she looked down at him. "As an orphan, he can be wild, even without a proper master, he takes well to mischief." She took a long strand of her long raven tresses and guided them behind her ear. "I recall a time, not long after he became bound to me. He would spit fire at anything that crossed my path. Such a territorial little hatchling he was."

Mai smiled kindly, but she doubted there was ever a time when her fire beast could be considered a hatchling. "He's one of the few friend I have anymore."

"Surely." Tatsu said as she looked around. "Only those who defy the star end up here." With warm yet calculating amber eyes, she offered Mai distant but comforting gaze. "You seek Kiyohime, and her former masters…" It wasn't a question, merely an observation.

"I was told that she would be able to help me." Mai nodded, feeling as though she was falling under some sort of scrutiny, and failing miserably.

"You've seen your shadow then." Tatsu said, again, a haunting murmur of little more than understanding. "Well, you won't contact Lind that way. It is truly is impossible, not to mention ignorant." With an annoyed flick of her eyes, she found that Kagutsuchi seemed expectant and relented a sigh. "It's improper to think you can commune with the dead that are enshrined here."

"Some of them are the best friends I've ever had." Mai shot back, closing her eyes to hide the pain.

"That, I know all too well." Tatsu agreed. Finally she looked around, a few of these names seemed to glow brighter than the others, as if they were calling out to this new woman. "Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they cannot see you. It is a curse, I'm afraid. We princesses are bound together, and even in our demise, we are not free from our shackles." She rested her back upon the wall, her ember eyes hiding behind closed lids. "Well…" She said expectantly, seemingly to no one unparticular. "Are you going to torture this girl forever, or shall you come at my behest?"

The wall began to glow a little more brightly as another figure stepped out. "Why do you feel the need to meddle in the affairs of others?" A tall graceful woman stepped out from the rock formation, her long snowy tresses wafting around her. Cool pale blue eyes found their mark as her lips thinned into an indifferent line. "You know that this isn't any of our concern, Tatsu."

"Please…" Mai said cutting in, bowing deeply to the woman in front of her. "I was told that you know the secrets of the HiME."

"Is that what they're calling it now?" Lind sighed rubbing her temple, knowing a headache was surely to form. "Children never learn." Even as she said then, she adopted a casual stance, her long sword at her side. "You seek answers, but of what kind?"

"My friends are here, dead." The carrot topped woman licked her lips at that, feeling not only parched, but also light headed. "I've heard there is a way to bring them back from their ghostlike states." Mai said quietly, her voice pleading as her violet orbs briefly found the woman she was addressing. "If you know how to do that, then, please tell me how."

"I do not see the need." Tatsu said quickly, cutting Lind's response off before it could even begin. "You are the queen now, are you not?" It was amazing how such warm looking eyes could turn ruthless in an instant. "You can't bring the dead back to life. It doesn't work that way."

"A woman of the cloth shouldn't lie, Tatsu." Lind laughed, her voice softer than the gentlest silk. She was so tall, Lind had to kneel down to let one gloved hand trace Mai's cheek, as if the girl were an interesting trinket. Her hands and arms were covered with delicate red lace, the intricate pattern unnerving against Mai's skin. "Besides, I was a queen of the obsidian world too, once." Ice blue eyes withheld amusement, faint, but there all the same. "We're kin, she and I."

"Is there a way?" Mai asked again, her throat feeling dry. "To bring my friends back?"

Cool icy blue eyes met Tatsu's amber ones. A shared glance between them spoke more than words ever could. Finally, Lind looked to Mai. "Yes, there is something you can do." She murmured slowly. "However, in order to accomplish such a thing, you require the spirits of the children who fought by their sides."

"The children?" Mai asked, pulling her lower lip between her teeth.

"Yes, of course." Lind said, as she eyed the dragon at Tatsu's side. "If you go awaken them, their souls will be able to retake their forms…however, doing that will only harken what you see before you."

"They would be merely ghosts." Tatsu replied. "You can't bring the dead back because you are a human. Our battle partners may call upon us, and it goes without saying that so can other dead battle princesses. If, however, you are looking to gift them life, there is only one such way to do that."

"Yes, she's right. You must revive their most important person." Lind said then, making sure that she was careful not to divulge the intimate details protected by the souls themselves. "If you can summon the creatures that fought by their side, and then return here, I will give you the information you seek."

Mai agreed, feeling a soft pulse in her blood, a determination not to falter or become weak in the eyes of those around her. "One more thing…" She was unsure why she felt the urge to ask, and yet, she felt as if she had no choice. "Can they see me now?"

"Odd thing to ask." Tatsu muttered.

"In an abstract way, I suppose." Lind murmured, ignoring Tatsu. "We're dead, spirits…so, even if they can see and hear you, their ability to discern just who you are exactly may be fuzzy to them." She looked around in thought, before she turned to the wall she had emerged from. "These names are merely history etched in stone, it's possible to erase these, I suppose." Even as she said it, she felt hesitant. "However, even if you do heal the wounds of time, who's to say you can heal any of them as individuals?"

Mai smiled sadly. "I don't think that's possible." Still, she felt as if she had to try. "I'm going…"

"Wait…" Lind tossed a sideways glance to Mai, gifting little more than a soft smirk. "The twelve children that fought at your sides are Kagutsuchi's comrades. He'll be able to sniff them out. If you can find some sort of possession that each of the princess owned then you can draw them out of their seals." With a small wave, she watched as Mai and Kagutsuchi left in a rush, as if their mission was clearly ahead of them without delay or misfortune.

It was only after Mai was well away from the tomb that Natsuki fell forward from her place, falling into the ground on her hands and knees. "What the hell!" She shouted. "Why didn't you let me out of there before?" She pushed herself up off the ground indignantly before a mild surprise dawned on her. "Holy crap…" She breathed. "I'm transparent."

"We're ghosts you moron." Nao groused as she found herself released from her binds as well. "Of course we're see through."

"That still doesn't explain how they got out." Natsuki grumbled thrusting her thumb over her shoulder.

"It wasn't us, if that's what you assume." Tatsu said as she bowed simply. "It's the power of the princess's star."

Lind's cool gaze extended to Natsuki's own. "Your fates are tied with that girl." She could feel it, the connection was strong among all the newcomers. "The star knows this, and it keeps you from contacting her any way it can."

"The fuck?" Nao groused. "I thought we killed the damn thing, not just pissed it off."

"You can't kill the star." Lind replied.

"We're screwed." Nao said leaning on the wall. "I told you no one should have messed with that dragon of Mai's. No one ever listen's to me."

"Oh, shut up." Natsuki barked at her younger comrade. "You've been complaining ever since we got here, and I want some real answers." She turned, looking back to the two other ghosts. "If we're dead, how can we even be brought back to life, it defies the laws of nature."

The priestess offered a sad smile. "It has much less to do with evolutionary theory, and more to do with forbidden scripture." Then after some thought, she toyed with the bow that was at her back, examining the quality.

"It's always god...always." Nao bit out. "if there is a god, why does he sit there with his thumb up his ass?"

"I would be respectful of the fates, if I were you...not all share your inclination, you little whelp."

"Easy, Tatsu." Lind said quietly to her priestess friend, trying to prevent her ire from rising any further.

"It's like the hymn states…" Tatsu sighed harshly, giving the short redhead a vicious stare. "We're trapped here, we can't leave...but, we can be saved."

Lind nodded, taking over as she put her hands on Tatsu's shoulders. "You're shackled to this place, and that gives the star its power. Now, if that girl were to abide by fate, that life energy would be used to make a new world…however, that isn't what happened. Instead, she wound up here."

"You moron's attacked the star." Tatsu sighed, almost chastising them. "That girl defied her future king, and, since none of you have any common sense, you've been imprisoned here."

"Excuse her, we've been trapped here for quite some time, I'm afraid." Lind said icily. "Anyway, as punishment for your crimes, you face the same purgatory we do…and eventually, the king and queen will die as well. It's inevitable. When they do, they'll be locked away here for eternity as well. It's merely a waiting game at this point."

"Hell of a way to end." Natsuki muttered, rubbing her face with her hands. "How do we know that's true?"

"Those that defy the star's whims end up here." Lind replied, grabbing the hilt of her katana. "That's simply the truth of it."

"She was a former queen herself." Tatsu told Natsuki. "I was a priestess in training when I was alive, with Kagutsuchi's power I wasn't by any means weak. Lind and I were one of the last few standing…we foolishly thought if we stopped the star, then maybe we wouldn't have to keep fighting each other." Tucking her arms into her sleeves, she grimaced. "This is the result of that defiance."

"So...we're stuck here?" Natsuki tried to kick the wall as a test, but her leg simply passed through it. Emerald green eyes found amber. "There's no way out of this at all?"

"Nothing you can do in your current form, I'm afraid." Tatsu said.

"Sweet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." Natsuki growled looking over to Nao who looked ready for a fight, and then back to Tatsu. "Okay, so what do you know?"

Lind shook her head and gave a mild shrug. "I was preordained to be the queen, as I was the strongest battle princess at the time. Mind you, I didn't have the knowledge at my disposal that I do now…in my time here, I've seen people escape, but, to be honest, the queen needs to be very strong…"

"And willing to make sacrifices." Tatsu added. "Not to mention, things change."

"It's a race of time, mentality, and sure force of will alone." Lind explaining worriedly. "Not everyone can do that…and everyone would have no other choice."

"Damn, and I thought losing the fight was bad enough the first time." Nao said as she ran her fingers through her impossibly red locks, and then meandered around. She saw names, but no faces and wondered if they would ever come out of hiding. "So…uh…where's everyone else?"

"Manifesting is difficult without understanding the power of the star." Lind murmured. "The only reason the two of you did it so easily is because you were summoned by your queen." Then she smiled. "Queens, living or dead, draw power from the star to some degree. I can move about freely, to some extent. Princesses, such as yourselves and Tatsu need help by having a tether to reach out for."

"Kagutsuchi summoned me." Tatsu agreed. "He was my link to my most important person, so, without him calling me, I wouldn't be able to appear like this...Mai being here gave you the power to fall accidently fall onto the floor after she left. One you go back into the rock, or, once the star drags you back in itself, you won't be able to get out again...the others could come out."

"So in other words, we have to just sit here and wait for Mai to do everything on her own?" Natsuki plopped down onto the floor, cursing under her breath. "That just peachy."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: It's been a while since I gave some love to this fiction, so I thought I'd do a short update…

**Chapter 4**

"You're going to do what now?" Reito spluttered as he heard the news, unable to contain his water at the sound of Mai's plan. It sounded like a horrible idea, but even more than that, he feared for what he thought to be the truth of the matter. "I hope that was a joke and little more."

"It wasn't." Mai shook her head. "But you can believe that if it helps to ease you."

"We have a future to build Mai, what you're talking about is…" He paused, took a breath, and wondered if it was truly possible, but refused to think it to be true. "Well, quite frankly, your plan impedes our progress. It so thoroughly disregards it, I worry for the impending future."

"It might not work." Mai agreed. "But you're sick Reito." She told him, seeing that he was thinning out by the day, she knew that she didn't really have any other option. "I think…I if we don't at least try…" Mai swallowed hard. She knew the smell of infection, the hints of sickly green and muted paleness that accompanied death. "Look, you aren't getting any better…and I'm…" She put her hand around her belly, she refused to tell him if she could avoid it. "We have to do something, and this is the best idea I've got."

"You're what, Mai?" Reito asked, a touch of concern in his voice.

"There's no healthy food, our water is contaminated, and even the sun looks demonic." She grit her teeth with a sigh. "At first I thought it was just nerves, stress…worries in general, but, something's really wrong with me." She could feel it. The dull constant ache that persisted no matter what she tried to do. "This isn't the future you think we're supposed to have. I don't think we could have that future at all anymore, so…we have to find a new future."

"You're going to give up?" He scowled, feeling angry, struggling to understand why he felt that way. "This future, this entire world is ours, Mai, ours!" It wanted it…he craved that pure raw power. It was an addiction that dripped into his being in a way he could not describe, but knew he was beginning to lack that which he desired. "If you throw that away, you'll have nothing…Mikoto wouldn't want that…"

"No, she wouldn't." Mai said softly. "She would want me to be happy…she would want to be by everyone's side." Just the thought made Mai miss the girl all the more. "Mikoto's simple like that, a little food, some friends…she would be happy with all of that, and you, by her side. It would be her dream come true." Mai had to be honest. "That's the kind of future I really want. One where there's some closure to all of this."

"We have our places." Reito told her. "You reject yours, and you don't seem to understand that."

"I understand mine." Mai told him, a slow annoyance bubbling to the surface. "It's really quite easy. I either wait here to die with nothing, or I fight for everything." The truth was, she was terrified…but she was even more afraid of dying alone in this world that wasn't even her own. "This isn't earth, this is just the star's magic."

"Magic we can utilize." He shot back. "Power we can make useful to our advantage."

"Don't kid yourself, that's a total lie, Reito." Mai said as she released a puff of air through her nose in frustration. "It can't happen that way, and you know it." Desperately her mind dragged her through the motions of reason, but her heart wanted nothing more than to turn her back and run. Instead, she fidgeted. "We've got to figure out how to get out of here."

"If that's the way you feel, then go." He knew couldn't stop her, his body was just too weak. He could hardly get around on his own anymore, and bedridden, he'd be little more than added weight. "Just don't blame me when you find out that there is absolutely nothing you could do."

"Yeah well, I'd rather find out it was all useless, rather than give up before trying." She turned her back to him, gripping the door handle. She paused, looked to him, and closed her eyes. "I know it really doesn't mean much, but those old days were some of the best that I ever had. I'm sure that everyone else feels the same way."

Reito took the honesty for what it was, a gentle admission that spoke of every happy moment, every trial, and complete failure. He nodded, accepting what he knew was a hesitant apology that Mai simply couldn't say. "You won't be able to get those days back." He told her.

"No." Mai agreed. She knew that. "So, if that's the case, we'll just have to make new ones."

**…**

Gut feelings were hard to gauge. She was never a person to run blindly on instinct alone, since she always tried to find more to bank her guesses on. Flying through the air at top speed was also something she tried never to do unless she had no other choice, but, reason gave way to her hopes and dreams, and beseechingly, she urged Kagutsuchi forward.

If there was one thing she knew, it was that she could feel a distinct edge when she finally came upon the resting place of one of the orphans. She licked her lips with hesitancy with every passing second, because even if Kagutsuchi was indeed battle ready, she doubted asking him to overpower any orphan would be a good idea, and, that was the ultimate crux of the issue.

It was true that Akane was merely a coworker, and closely acquainted one at that, but, she wasn't part of the makeshift family that Mai had centered upon herself back in the old days. Even so, this was as good a place to start as any. Mai hadn't actually seen the catlike beast that belonged to the fallen HiME, but she knew that just like with all of the orphans who looked for, and eventually attached to HiME, there was an unquestionable bond.

Hari's resting place was in a strange little forested area, not too far away from the school. In fact, it was probably his nearness to a common dating spot that so drew him to Akane. Mai thought long and hard about what might capture his attention, but fell short when she realized that Akane's work uniform had seen better days. The room had been picked clean too, probably back when she had been taken in by one of the organizations.

There was a locket that rested under the pillow. It wasn't exactly hiding, but, the chain was too thin to see without actually peering at the general area. It was with that trinket in hand, that she'd returned to that spot, gazing at the mound of dirt and rock that was veiled only slightly by bush of poison ivy. It came as no surprise when a yowl came from the rock, predatory in nature.

"Hari, are you in there?" She asked, but received no reply. The seal rippled with raw energy, answer enough. She doubted she could yank him out of swirling vortex of golden light. Instead, it seemed to pull in wind from around the portal. Even so, she found the power strangely cool to the touch. The soft swirling tornado pulled in the locket, and when it did, the raw energy spit out one very confused and disturbed young man.

"Ugh…" He groaned as the golden light from around him dissipated entirely.

"Kazuya…" Mai said, surprised to see the boy in a very rumpled and windblown school uniform. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"Mai…? He looked around, this place seemed only vaguely familiar to him. He blinked a few times and then bit his lip. "Where's Akane?" He asked, bolting upright as fear tore through him. "She's okay, isn't she?"

Mai looked away a bit guiltily. "I don't know." She said quietly. "But, I do know that if she isn't right now, she will be, eventually."

"She was right here." Kazuya protested, his eyes etching the very worry that hung over him. "In fact…" His eyes darted to the trees, but he could find nothing. "Miyu was here too, at one point. That's got to be it." His fists clenched at his sides in worry. "What happened here Mai?"

"I wish I could tell you, I woke up one day, and everything was this way." She told him quietly. "It's just…" She hesitated, swallowing hard. "This isn't the academy you used to know. Everything's changed."

He could tell with the way the blood red sun toyed with the world around it, casting its ugly light on anything within its path. "Yeah, I guess so." He forced himself to say, bewildered. He tried to search for an answer, his mind woefully blank. "All I remember was this green light." He said looking down at his hands. "I was in pain at first, but only for a second…then I lost my hearing, and then my sight. Then the world went black." He licked his lips uncertainly as he gazed around the trees.

"Do you remember what you and Akane were doing here at the time?" Mai asked him, but, the boy seemed clueless.

"I don't know…" He murmured, his mind like a slow crawl. "We were on a date, maybe?" Somehow, it didn't feel right to him. "That's the only time we ever come this far into the woods." Still, he was deeper than normal, and their usual bench was no place to be found. "Maybe we went for a walk, or something." He shook his head and grit his teeth. "I've got to find her."

"Wait." Mai grabbed his wrist and shook her head. "You won't find her out there." Mai said sadly. "Nothing's left."

"Nothing…" He voiced almost not believing it. "I don't get it. She was just here."

"She's been gone awhile." Mai explained with a soft sigh tinged with sadness and regret. "I think, I might know how to get her out, but, you need to trust me." Her eyes turned to her dragon. "Kagutsuchi, transform." The beast screeched loudly and did as he was told, as he lowered himself from the treetops. In all of his splendor, hot steam shot from his nose as he made a few soft clicking sounds, earning a grin from Mai and a much sought after pat on the snout. "This is called a child, and we HiME used them to fight…do you remember seeing something like this?"

Kazuya squinted, but nothing like this beast rang true in his mind. "No, never." He murmured, but that didn't feel right either. "It's strange, I feel like I know him, but, I've never seen anything like this before." He went to put his hand out, jerking backwards moments later when blurry memories tore through him. "I don't understand!" He shouted, gripping his head as tears poured from his eyes, though he didn't feel sadness directly. "Why does this feel so wrong?" He begged to know, crumpling to the ground out of fatigue.

"Kazuya…I need you to remember." Mai begged, kneeling down with him. "It might not have been a dragon like him." Mai sighed inwardly, she could tell the young man was lost and clearly confused. "Any creature at all? One that didn't look normal?"

"Not normal…" He looked around again. "No…not like that."

"Do you recall anything?" Mai tried again. "A power from Akane, or some type of weapon?"

Rubbing his eyes, he tried to pinpoint the rather obscure feeling, but to no avail. "No." He reported hesitantly, trying to fight away the tears that continued to drip like a river down his cheeks. "But, I'm not afraid or sad…and that's strange." He turned away, looking around again, feeling as though something should be there, but, simply went unseen. "People should be afraid of dragons, they don't exist." He said, looking at the seemingly mythical beast again. "There's one here though…so, what does that mean for a guy like me?"

Mai sighed. "It's probably a bad case of amnesia." She didn't want to take a guess at all of the problems that might bring. "Alright then, come on. We're going back to the school." Mai used Kagutsuchi's long wing to get up to his back, and then extended her arm to Kazuya so that he could do the same. "I'll explain a few things on the way that might help."

And so, they took off into the sky, where Mai felt safest. She told him what a HiME was in the easiest terms, and, told him that Akane also had some sort of beast. She went on to say what the loss of the battle, and of a most important person implied. Then she told him of the unquestionable fact that he had come out of the portal that belonged to the combat child, Hari.

That's when they arrived at the school.

Mai was unsure of what the boy might think after seeing his dorm room, not to mention Akane's, but she knew she couldn't put it off. The dorms weren't what they used to be, and she was forced to give him a tour of his new surroundings. Of course, his eyes were the gentle sort, so being easy to read came naturally to him. The school however, brought out a much darker, worried side of himself.

"I just don't get it…" He said, looking at the locket he held in his palms. "Why would I come out of that thing?"

"I don't know." Mai told him, putting some canned soup in front of him, and sitting down at his side. "All I know for sure is that Akane is dead, without really being dead." She ripped a chunk of bread in half, giving the boy in front of her one of the chunks. "I thought that if I brought Hari to her resting place, I might be able to awaken her…kind of like a test."

"You can't prove that by me." Kazuya murmured.

"Oh, but I can." Mai told him. "I just don't think you'll like what you'll have to see in order to believe it."


End file.
